Benjamin held his expression in stoic reserve while Caleb disinfected the sores on his toes and feet, applied salve and bandaged them.Įllie and Flynn watched his sure gentle movements. Caleb waited for the medicine to take effect before starting to work.

If I were going to poison you, I wouldn’t have traveled all the way to Florence in the heat to bring you here, now would I?”īenjamin drank the liquid reluctantly and grimaced. The lad’s expression faltered, but he caught himself. But as a doctor I think you should drink it so it doesn’t hurt quite as bad while I work on your feet.” “I don’t have to take nothin’ from you if I don’t want to.” “I want you to drink this,” Caleb said to Benjamin.īenjamin looked at the cup. In spite of his protests, Ellie returned to make sure he did a good job washing his hair and behind his ears and under his nails.Įventually both boys sat on kitchen chairs wearing spanking new knee-length union suits, the tops of which hung at their waists, while Caleb donned his gold-rimmed spectacles, then cleansed and treated their shoulders, necks, ears and faces with unguent. Flynn ate, then explored the house and yard, returning often to express his delight.īenjamin, however, sat on the back step as though unimpressed.įlynn volunteered, and they left him alone to scrub. She and Caleb pumped water, then Caleb stoked the stove while Ellie fed the baby and prepared small portions of bread and fruit for the boys. Nate had awakened and was crying with an empty tummy. Hearing their undernourished condition referred to in such a way angered Ellie all over again. Their stomachs will need to get used to adequate amounts slowly.” “Just don’t let them eat too much at a time just yet, and nothing too rich or spicy. “One can eat while the other is bathing,” he said when they were alone for a moment in the kitchen. The boys needed baths and their heads washed. She’d bathed the night before and could have managed quite well with a pitcher and bowl, but she caught his drift. “We have time for baths-Ellie, will you help me heat water?” Ellie remembered her reaction the first time she’d seen it.Ĭaleb looked at his pocket watch. “This it?” Flynn asked, jumping down and eyeing the two-story structure. I also own a few horses that my father breeds for me.”ĭazed, Ellie returned to the buggy, not even noticing the heat as Caleb drove the team and pulled up in front of his house. “I lease my share of the ranch, and receive a comfortable sum each month. All that clothing had to cost a fortune! With a sick feeling in her stomach, Ellie clutched Nate and said softly to Caleb, “I-I can’t pay you back for all that.”

The Doctor's Wife by Cheryl St. John